paul flannery

Rivers calls out 'selfish' Celtics

In the aftermath of a brutal, self-inflicted loss to a Charlotte Bobcats team that featured the likes of Dominic McGuire and Kwame Brown in its starting lineup, Celtics coach Doc Rivers could have played it a number of different ways.

He could have downplayed the latest defeat (83-81, click here for a full recap). He could have offered up the standard litany of explanations and rationales and moved on. Instead, Rivers got right to the heart of the matter.

Asked if he was shocked by the loss, he began a soliloquy that sums up everything about his team right now.

“No, the way we’re playing shocks me. Our attitude, shocks me,” he began. “We’re just not ready to win any games right now the way we play, the way our approach is to basketball games. I told them that with about five minutes left. I said, ‘If we win great. You find your own way.’ Right now I just think we’ve become very, very selfish.”

He had already called them “soft” in New York, which didn’t go over very well with his players, but had the desired effect as the Celtics rallied to beat the Knicks. Now he has called the most unselfish team in the NBA – the one that prides itself on helping the helper on defense and making the extra pass on offense – selfish.

He continued:

“Not just as far as trying to get our own, but everything is about how we’re playing individually, instead of how the team is playing. You can see it. A guy struggles, he pouts, he moans. Everything is me, me, me on our team right now.”

So, the coach has finally called them out. This is not about new players or schemes or adjustments. This is not about injuries or minutes or health. There are no more outs. No more excuses.

This is also not at all like last year.

“Nothing like this,” Rivers said. “Last year I shut them down. They were injured. They’re not injured. They’re not playing well.” He paused a beat and then dropped another bomb. “Last year we lost Game 7 on the road.”

There won’t be many Game 7’s at the Garden this year. They remain a game behind the Bulls and now have the Heat breathing down their neck for second place in the Eastern Conference.

If this continues they will be right back where they were last year with the hardest road a legitimate contender can have through the playoffs – having to win three series without the benefit of homecourt. The very thing they all said couldn’t happen way back in October is happening.

Just three short weeks ago the Celtics were in the driver’s seat and now they are letting it slip away with losses to the likes of the Clippers, Nets and Bobcats. That’s the big picture predicament they find themselves in with a four-game road trip and two sets of back-to-backs staring them right in the face.

More importantly, there is something very wrong with the Celtics right now. Rajon Rondo has been in the worst slump of his career. He’s not making shots. He’s not getting others involved. He’s not being Rondo and there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of explanation other than he’s either beaten down mentally or physically or both.

He had no assists in the first half. Not one. And while he played better in the second half, his malaise seems to have spread over the rest of the team.

Nenad Krstic is a mess right now. He’s thinking instead of playing and reacting instead of knowing.

“It’s paralysis by analysis for him,” Rivers said before the game. “He’s a pleaser. He wants to do everything well. When he first got here he was just playing. It happens all the time when you see guys got a team they play well right out of the gate. Then all of a sudden they think and they no longer can play. I’m not concerned about him. It’s just going to take him some time to unlock his brain.”

Those are the two most obvious examples, but it’s everyone right now and Rivers wasn’t about to offer an out.

“I could care less about their slumps right now,” Rivers said. “It’s not hard, you keep playing. You’re not going to play well every night, but it can’t be about you. It’s got to be let me do something else to help our team.”

Asked who could get them out of their funks, Rivers responded, “Themselves, not me or any coach. Themselves. They have to be honest with each other first. Until that happens, we’re going to have these results.”

As an 11-point lead dwindled and ultimately evaporated, Rivers sat on the bench with his hand over his mouth. He would let then figure it out and they almost did.

Pushed to the brink they finally recaptured their defensive energy. Kevin Garnett drew an offensive foul on Boris Diaw and on the other end, the ball stopped sticking long enough for Garnett to drain a wide-open 20-footer to give the Celtics the lead.

But Dante Cunningham answered for Charlotte and while the Celtics got two great looks at game-winning 3-pointers – one from Ray Allen and the other from Garnett – neither would fall. If they had somehow found a way to win this game on their own, it wouldn’t have validated their prior work.

“It has to come from all of us,” Paul Pierce said. "One player can come out here and say it and 'hoo-rah' around the locker room, but it has to come from everybody. We’re all veterans, we’ve all been here before, and we all know what it takes. It’s got to come from each individual to take a look in the mirror, and look inside and decide if that’s what they want to do. We can talk about it everyday, but until we look at ourselves in the mirror, that’s what it’s going to be."

Greg and Chris talk with Mike Reiss from ESPN Boston in hour 2 of NFL Sunday to discuss a variety of offseason happenings with the Pats and throughout the league. Greg and Chris also get into the NFL Draft and where Mariota and Winston will go.

Mike Reiss calls the guys to talk about the offseason news for the Pats. He talks about the Pats/Jets tampoering fiasco, free agency, where he sees Ridley and Connolly ending up, if the Patriots would be interested in Reggie Wayne and more.

In the first hour of the show, Greg and Chris discuss the news coming out of the owners' meetings this week and rule changes. Belichick's blow-up over the league not wanting to spend on endzone cameras was well documented and the guys react. They also talk about the Jets ridiculous tampering charges, free agents still lingering out there, where Stevan Ridley will land and the RB position in New England. Dickerson and Price briefly discuss the adventures of Tom Brady before being joined by WEEI.com's Mike Petraglia to talk all things Pats in the offseason.

Flannery joins Mut to break down the Isaiah Thomas trade to Boston and what it means for the Celtics this season and in the future. Paul also chats with Mut about the other deals that happened at the NBA's trading deadline

Mut, Tomase, and Bradford kick things off talking about Shane Victorino taking offense to people reading into some comments he made about trading for Cole Hamels. They also discuss Blake Swihart and how soon he could be up if Christian Vazquez starts the season on the DL.

Joe Kelly joined the Hot Stove show where he talked about being ready for his next spring training start after a biceps ailment forced him out of his last outing, he talks about his NCAA brackets and how teammate Wade Miley has a perfect bracket still.

Peter Chiarelli joined the Sunday Skate crew to talk about the Bruins playoff push heading into the final handful of games of the regular season. Chiarelli talked about avoiding some of the overly negative feedback he gets while realizing that the team does have real issues. He discusses what went down at the trade deadline and if he was happy with the outcome, Lucic having a down year and underperforming, the salary cap and if he considers it as big of an issue as it's been made out to be and what the future holds for the team.

It's a big hour #2 for the Sunday Skate dudes - they talk about the B's defenseman and what the future looks like at that position, with both moves the team can make and younger guys in the AHL. They also get into the Bruins philosophy on bringing guys up and sending them back down and how players deal with that. Finally, the boys are joined by Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli to discuss EVERYTHING.

The Sunday Skate crew gets the show going discussing the Bruins big, impressive victory over the NY Rangers yesterday. What can you take from that game? According to LB - Lyndon Byers - who called the guys from the road, not a lot. LB drops a dime on what was going on with the Rangers yesterday. DJ and Joe discuss Claude's lines and groupings and the importance of Ryan Spooner. They also get into Lucic, his contributions this year and if he can turn things around.

With the Wells report seemingly wrapping up (we hope), Tim and Lou got to talking about possible fines and punishments the Patriots must face. It's possible that the Patriots will face a small fine, but should they take that laying down? The conversation brings out a little passion from BOTH sides.